An Exile's Tale
by Aneirin
Summary: an young predator is banished to earth. it's not a fair punishment for what he did, but he can live with it. after all, living on earth shouldn't be too bad, right? right? second genre subject to change.
1. exiled

Disclaimer: I don't own the Predator or Alien franchise, just this story.

Author's note: Sup? This is my first Predator fic (I included Alien in the disclaimer just in case I decide to incorporate some Xenomorphs into the story, and they're gonna be mentioned in this chapter anyway)! Anywho, I'll do my best, but I've got slight lack of knowledge of Predator culture, as I've not gotten the chance to read many of the comics. But, I'll do what I can with the info I've got, so please bare with me. If you should happen to notice any serious flaws, please let me know so I can fix it! Thank you. Enjoy!

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The young warrior stood there, looking up at the Council. The look was somewhat defiant, almost a glare. He stood still, his arms placed in front of him. They were shackled together, his right arm crossed over his left. Many had gathered to watch the tribunal. Never before, or certainly in none of **their** lifetimes, had anything like this happened.

"Do you know why you are here, young one?" asked one of the Elders on the Council. The young Yautja in question nodded. "Then what do you have to say in your defense?"

"Only this, sir," said the young one. "I do not believe in hunting humans."

"Oh really?" asked the Elder, somewhat amused. "And why is it that you don't want to hunt them?"

"I don't agree with hunting any sentient being," said the young one. "Especially humans."

"We have hunted them for many centuries," said another Elder. "It was of little concern to anyone then. Why should it be any different now?"

"There is no need to hunt them," said the young one. "We have other, stronger creatures to hunt. The Kainde Amedha are challenge enough. They are used as our rite of passage. Why can't we be content hunting them?"

"Two reasons," said a third Elder. "One, we still need oomans to supply the Kainde Amedha, and two, the Kainde Amedha lack the thing that oomans can provide." The young one looked curiously at the Elder. "They lack the capacity to really think and plan for themselves. That is why oomans, although physically weak, still make good prey. Their intelligence makes them some of the most dangerous game."

"That is not a good reason to hunt a sentient being!" exclaimed the young Yautja. "In a nonlethal challenge of skill, it might be acceptable, but to kill a sentient thing for sport-"

"Silence!" exclaimed the first Elder loudly. "Silence young pacifist. This tribunal was not called because of your feelings about the oomans. It was called because of what you did. You attacked another hunter, your superior. You attacked him for nothing."

"That is not true!" exclaimed the young Yautja. "I had a reason! He-"

"You attacked him because he said he wanted to go ooman hunting. That is not a good reason, and cannot excuse your actions. Attacking your superiors is a serious offense. And it was over a trivial matter. The Council has been called to decide your fate." The Elders looked at each other. They held a short, whispered conference. The young one looked from them, to the

Yautja that had gathered. They were all looking at him, curious as to what his fate would be. The young one saw a particularly smug looking Yautja in the crowd. It was him. The one he'd fought with.

The young Yautja glared at him. It was his fault. That one had known how the young Yautja felt about hunting humans. He'd been goading him for a long time. The young one had finally snapped, and attacked. Now he was here, in front of the Council of Elders, awaiting punishment for his supposed "crime". The Council turned back to him.

"We have come to a decision," said the first Elder. "Since you love the oomans so much, you can go live with them." The young Yautja's eyes widened. "You are hereby banished to Earth. You shall be referred to as 'Exile' for the remainder of your time here. You will be sent to Earth tomorrow. That is all."

The young one was led away by two guards, completely dumbfounded. Banished? It was such a minor offense. Or, rather, it shouldn't have been bad enough to get him banished from the Yautja home-world. He passed the Yautja whom he had attacked.

"Have fun on Earth, pup," he said, smirking. "I'll say a Kantra for you, Hulij-bpe."

"Ell-osde' pauk," muttered the exiled youth. The older one glared at him. However, the exile's guards kept moving, taking him with them. The young one kept his eyes forward. He knew he was right. He knew he'd done what was right. So what if he had to live on Earth? He'd do it, and he'd be proud.

He kept marching forward, having no idea what it was the future had in store for him.

888

On a certain blue planet, a young girl was lying on the ground, staring up at the stars. She was about sixteen or seventeen. She often gazed up at the stars. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shooting star. She followed the star until it disappeared from sight. She smiled. The sky was so clear out here. She got up and stretched. She started heading home. She would come out to stargaze again tomorrow night.

The night sky was clear. Suddenly, another streak of light made it's way across the sky. However, it wasn't a star. High above the Earth's atmosphere, a ship had appeared. It was preparing to unload a certain, disobedient cargo. A cargo marked "Exile".

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And, there it is. Chapter 1. This has been running around in my head for weeks now, and I decided to just start writing the darn thing. So tell me what you think, let me know if there were any serious flaws in the Yautja Council scene, etc.

Some quick notes: Because the scene only had Yautja, I decided to have them speak English with just a few Yautja words. Translations, for those that don't know, are as follows:

Kainde Amedha: Xenomorphs (literally translates to "Hard" and "Meat", but i don't think they actually call them "Hard Meats"

Oomans: slang for "humans"(notice the young one beingexiled was the only one to call them "human" and not "ooman")

Kantra: prayer

Hulij-bpe: crazy

Ell-osde' pauk: F&#k you (I kept it Yautja for fun)


	2. goodbyes and hellos

Disclaimer: I don't own the Predator or Alien franchise, just this story.

Author's note: Alright! Chapter 2! Yes! This one will be a good deal longer than the last one. My first chapters are always short as a rule, with only one exception (my story "Unrequited"). Guess what? As a special treat, we get to learn the Exile's real name in this chapter! Alright then, here we go!

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It was almost time. It had been a day since the Council had made its decision. The young, recently exiled warrior was getting ready. The Council had decided that they wouldn't be sending him to Earth unarmed. He was allowed to take his weapons with him. Although, they had joked about this. "After all," they had said, "You're against hunting the game on Earth anyway."

The young Yautja snorted at the memory. Stuck up Council members, so steeped in their stupid traditions. He heard someone behind him.

"What is it, Ka'yel?" he asked.

"I just wanted to wish you luck," said the other Yautja. "I think that the Council made an unfair decision."

"Thank you for feeling that way, friend," said the exiled one.

"Better watch out for that one," said a third voice. "Never know when he'll attack." The two friends turned to see a slightly older Yautja. He smirked at the look on their faces.

"Leave us alone," said Ka'yel, "Let me say my goodbyes to-"

"The Exile," said the older hunter. "Remember, we can't use his name anymore."

"I would rather be an Exile than a Lou-dte Kalei like you, Na'daku," said the Exile. The older hunter growled fiercly. "What's wrong? Did I hit a nerve?"

"You have quite a mouth on you, pup," said Na'daku. "The Council made the right decision when they banished you." He turned away and stormed out of the room.

Exile smirked as he left. He turned back to Ka'yel. He looked sad, and angry at the same time. "If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be in this situation," he growled.

"Na'daku," said Exile, "Isn't worth my time anymore. All he's good for is getting warriors banished for standing up for their beliefs." Exile turned back to his weapons. He put his wrist-blades on. He had two sets, on for his left hand and one for his right. He extended each to make sure they were functional.

"You're one of the only warriors I know that uses two of those," said Ka'yel. Exile retracted the blades.

"More effective that way," said Exile. He took out his Combat staff, extended it, and spun it around for a bit. He then shortened it and put it on his back. He took out a few shuriken, extended the blades to make sure they were working, and then put them back.

"You're taking enough weapons to hunt a Kainde Amedha," said Ka'yel. "If you're not planning on hunting humans, why do you need them?"

"You never know," said Exile, checking a Smart Disk. "I might run into a situation where I must defend myself." Ka'yel nodded in agreement.

"That is true," said Ka'yel. Exile finished checking his gear, checking his cloaking device and shoulder cannon at the very end. He took off his helmet after checking the cannon. "Ty'g- I mean, Exile." Exile looked at Ka'yel. Ka'yel gave him a warrior's salute. "I will say a Kantra for you, Yeyinde." Exile saluted him back.

"As will I for you, Yeyinde" said Exile. They saluted each other for a moment, then both rushed forward. They grabbed each others' right hand, and then pulled each other into an embrace. They had always been together, for everything. Now, they would probably be separated forever. Certainly hugging wasn't something that hunters did with each other, unless it involved back pounding, but they didn't care. This would be the comrades' final moment with each other.

"I'm going to miss you," said Ka'yel, tears slowly appearing in his eyes.

"I'm going to miss you too," said Exile, the same happening to him. They pulled themselves together and put on their helmets. It was time for Exile to go.

888

The girl arrived home, picking the last few blades of grass out of her long blonde hair. She opened the back door and stepped inside.

"Lauren?" asked a voice. "You home?"

"Yes dad!" she called. She went to the fridge and got herself a soda. She sat down took a few sips. She sighed. Over the last few days, she'd been getting this strange feeling. It felt as though something was going to happen, something big. All through the day, the feeling had been getting stronger and stronger. She had been sure that whatever was going to happen, was going to happen that day. But, here it was, about 10 at night and nothing had happened. She felt a bit disappointed.

"Hey Lauren," said her dad, walking into the kitchen. "Did you hear about what happened over in Colorado?" Lauren shook her head.

"What happened?" she asked.

"They're not sure," said her dad. "They said some small town got totally destroyed. They think that the power plant blew up or something." Lauren raised an eyebrow.

"That's stupid," said Lauren. "Even if a power plant exploded, it wouldn't be enough to destroy an entire town."

"I know," said her dad. "That's why I mention it. The government is keeping something from us, I'm sure of it." Lauren grinned.

"Have you been reading tabloids again?" she asked.

"No!" her dad exclaimed. He looked at the ground. "... Yes. But that doesn't mean they aren't on to something." Lauren stifled a laugh. Her dad had been into that kind of stuff for as long as she could remember. Government conspiracies, extra-terrestrials, Area 51, stuff like that. She was into it a bit too, but she drew the line at tabloid newspapers. If one thing good had come out of it, it was that Lauren and her father both had a larger acceptance of the strange and unusual.

"Right," said Lauren, "And what does the _Enquirer_ say?"

"They say that the Army was trying to cover up something big, and they nuked the town," answered Dad. Lauren had a skeptical look on her face. However, before their conversation could continue, they heard a noise coming from outside.

"What was that?" asked Lauren.

"Sounded like the barn door opening," said Dad. "I'm gonna go check it out."

"I'm coming with you," said Lauren. Dad nodded. he went to go get his shotgun. You never could tell who was wandering around at night.

888

Exile got up and shook his head. 'Rough landing,' he thought to himself. He looked around at the forest he'd landed in, and at the small ship he'd arrived in. It was half-buried in the ground. Luckily, he hadn't hit anything except the ground. He'd have to destroy it though, lest it be found by a human. He set the self destruct mechanism on the ship to go off in exactly 60 seconds. He cleared away from the area, trying not to look back at the last Yautja ship he might ever see again.

He remembered his very last moment with Ka'yel. "I'll try and come visit you," Ka'yel had said.

"I doubt they'll let you," Exile had said. "But, promise me something Ka'yel."

"Anything."

"If you ever do come to Earth, for any reason, please don't come hunting for humans." Ka'yel smiled.

"What kind of friend would I be if I did that?" Ka'yel had asked. "I'll do better than that. I'll try and continue your work. See if I can't get others to see that you were right."

Exile smiled at the memory. Ka'yel. His friend through thick and thin. He moved to wipe away what may have been a tear, but laughed when he realized his helmet was still on. The ship behind him exploded. It was a small, self-contained explosion. All it did was cause the ship to disintegrate. It caused no damage other than that.

Exile kept moving. He wasn't quite sure where he could go. Wether he defended them or not, he knew he couldn't go right to the humans. He knew they wouldn't accept him. At least not right away. He kept telling himself that a day would come when humans and Yautja could peacefully co-exist. He hoped to be the one to prove it.

It wasn't long before he came to a clearing, where he saw a large structure. He couldn't detect any heat sources inside. He looked around the area, and saw a smaller structure. If his research had been correct, this was a standard human dwelling. A house, or something like that. He knew there would be humans inside the house, but he was sure the larger structure was empty.

'I can stay there tonight,' he thought, 'And figure out what to do tomorrow.' He activated his stealth and moved quietly towards he large structure. Once he got there, he had a hard time finding the entrance. It was a bit cool out, and his thermal scanners weren't picking up the entrance very well. He thought he'd found handles, but he wasn't sure. He went through a few visual settings, trying to find one that would help him see better. He eventually hit a setting he'd added himself. Visible light. He'd added this in order to see as humans did.

It didn't do him much good, as it was fairly dark out. However, he could see well enough to know that he had found door handles. He grabbed them, and carefully opened the door. Unfortunately, no amount of stealth and silence is a match for rusty door hinges. The door creaked open, and the young Yautja grimaced. 'If the humans heard that, I might be in trouble.' He went inside the structure quickly, and looked for a particularly shadowed area to hide. Sure, he had stealth on, but he knew from past stories and certain experiences that Yautja stealth technology only worked so well, and that if someone was looking hard enough they could find him even while it was on.

He found a corner, and ran to it. It was full of what was clearly some kind of dried plant. A bit like the grass outside, only longer and rounder. He hid amongst the shadows and the plants, hid his medical kit and pack of extra weapons in the pile, and tried not to move. He switched back to his thermal vision, knowing it was his best chance of seeing in the dark.

888

"Shh," Dad cautioned. "Remember, we have no idea who's in there. It might be anything from a stray dog, to a hobo, to a knife wielding maniac. So keep behind me and let me do the talking." Lauren nodded, and then rolled her eyes. Her father had a shot-gun, and she knew how to use a gun too. She doubted there could be anything in the barn that her father or herself couldn't handle. After all, what could stand up to a shotgun?

They crept into the barn, eyes alert. They didn't see anything at first, which meant that whoever or whatever was in the barn was hiding. They looked around a few seconds more, and then Lauren's dad called out. "Alright! Whoever's in here, you'd better come out now!" There was silence.

Meanwhile, Exile, who was hiding in the stack of hay in the corner, tried not to move. He saw that the larger of the two humans, a male by the look of it, was armed. Making any sudden moves might cause a confrontation that could easily turn fatal. For the human, at least. He wanted to avoid such a confrontation, especially since there was a second, unarmed human standing nearby.

"You'd better show yourself!" called Dad. "I know you're in here! Do yourself a favor and come out!" Still nothing.

Exile hadn't understood some of the words the human was speaking, but he got the message. The human knew there was an intruder, and was trying to bring them out of hiding. Exile had no intention of doing so, but, unfortunately, his cloaking device disagreed. Had Exile been paying more attention, he would have noticed that the power supply had been damaged when he had crashed. It was an easy fix, but it didn't matter at this point. His cloaking device began shorting out, and he was soon completely visible.

"What the..." said Dad, seeing the tall figure suddenly appear in the haystack. He aimed his gun. The guy looked big, but that wasn't gonna scare him. "Hold it right there!" Exile stiffened. The human could definitely see him.

"Who are you?" asked Dad. The figure didn't answer. Dad got a bit agitated. "I'm gonna ask again, and you'd better say something this time. Who are you?" Exile didn't know how to answer. He tried backing away.

"Hey!" exclaimed Dad. "I didn't say to move!" He kept his eyes on his target, saying to Lauren, "Get that flashlight hanging right there next to the door. Let's see who this joker is." Lauren grabbed the flashlight. She'd meant to get one before they left, but her father had wanted to get out to the barn right away. She turned the flashlight on and aimed it at the figure.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, seeing it lit up. It was so tall, with claws and pale, yellowish skin. It couldn't be human!

"Whoa!" exclaimed Dad, starting to pull the trigger. Exile was faster. Quick as a flash, he raised his arm and shot out a two-pronged dart. The dart hit the shotgun and knocked it from Dad's hands. It sent it into the barn door, slamming it shut. "Lauren run!" exclaimed Dad. "I'll hold it off!" Exile could sense the panic, and decided to try and communicate.

"Wwwait," he said, with some difficulty. He had gone to great lengths to understand humans, so he knew a good amount of words. He knew as many as some of the Elders. In fact, he knew more than most. Of course, he didn't know everything, but he knew enough to try and carry on a conversation.

"D-did it just talk?" asked Lauren. Exile shook his head.

"Mmnot heer to hurt yuu," Exile said, dragging out a few vowel sounds.

"Somehow I doubt that!" exclaimed Dad, pointing to his now useless gun.

"Mo understaand," said Exile. "Didn't wanna get shot. Hadda shoot first. Mo hurt yuu." Lauren looked carefully at Exile. His hands were in the air, as if he was trying to show them he wasn't armed. Or, at least, that he wasn't aiming anymore of those dart-things at them.

"W-what are you?" asked Lauren.

"Yautja," said Exile.

"What the hell is that?" asked Dad. Even though he was clearly in danger, he was still going to get right in this thing's face. Exile didn't know what 'hell' meant, but he could detect the aggression in the male's voice. This human was very brave. Exile pointed up. "Huh?"

"I-I think he means the sky," said Lauren. "That's what you mean, right?" Exile nodded.

"He's part of the sky?" asked Dad. "The hell's that supposed to mean?" Lauren thought about it for a second. Something in her mind clicked.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, forgetting her fear in her moment of discovery. "I get it! Dad, he's trying to say that he's _from_ the sky! He's from space!" Dad blinked.

"I asked what he was, and he gave me where?" he asked.

"Maybe he doesn't know much English," suggested Lauren. "He could've thought you were asking where he was from. Or, maybe he didn't know how to explain it other than telling us he was from space." Exile nodded. Lauren looked back at him. Her fear of him was quickly diminishing. He didn't seem to want to hurt them, and because of her dad she was already more accepting of the strange. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" mimicked Exile. He was trying to work out exactly what the question was. Lauren seemed to understand that.

"Your name," said Lauren. "My name is Lauren. You?" Exile understood. She wanted his name. He was about to say 'Exile,' when he realized that it didn't matter. While the Yautja weren't supposed to use his name anymore, he was certainly allowed to. And so could they.

"Ty'ger," he said.

"Tiger?" asked Lauren. She looked closely at him, her flash-light beam running up and down his body. His skin actually had a lot of stripes, so the name seemed fitting. The exile thought about the way she'd said it. It wasn't quite the right pronunciation, but he liked the word. It had a nice feel about it. Tiger. He seemed to remember learning something about an Earth animal called a 'tiger.' It was supposed to be a dangerous hunter. He could live with that. Tiger, he decided, was a good name.

"Tiger," repeated the young Yautja.

"Now hold on," said Dad, finally interrupting. "Just a few seconds ago, this guy nearly took my hand off with that thing he shot at me. Now we're exchanging names with him!?"

"Dad," said Lauren, "Look at him. I know he's an alien, but he's not trying to hurt us. He only shot at you because you were going to shoot him." Tiger nodded.

"How do you know he's telling the truth?" asked Dad. As an answer, Tiger walked right over to them. He reached past them and grabbed the gun that had been pinned to the wall. He yanked out the dart and handed the gun back to Dad.

"Telling the truth," mimicked Tiger. Dad looked at his gun. It wasn't too messed up. He could shoot Tiger right now, point blank if he wanted too. But, he was sure that Tiger knew that and had handed him the gun anyway.

"See?" said Lauren. "I think we can trust him." Dad looked at Tiger, then at Lauren. He sighed. It was probably his fault. He had brought Lauren up by himself after his wife had died. In doing so, she'd gotten his weird-side. Now, here she was, defending a big scary alien guy. He turned back to the big scary alien guy in question.

"You're lucky you got caught in _my_ barn," he said, getting right up in Tiger's masked face. "If I wasn't so open-minded, I'd blow your head off." Tiger seemed to understand, nodding slowly. "Now, what is it you want?" Tiger thought for a moment, trying to find the right words.

"Nneeed a place tuu staay," he said, trying to pronounce everything correctly.

"Maybe he could stay in the barn," suggested Lauren.

"What!?" exclaimed Dad. "You're seriously thinking about letting him stay? We don't even really know what he is! On top of that, if he were a human, I still wouldn't let him stay! We just met him! We know nothing about him!"

"Dad," said Lauren, "Where else could he go? He's a six-and-a-half to seven-foot alien, and we're the only people around for a hundred miles that aren't going to shoot him on sight. Besides, if he really wanted to hurt us he would have done it by now. He could have done it before we even saw him."

"Why can't he go back to his ship?" asked Dad. Before Tiger could answer, Lauren spoke again.

"If he could, he probably wouldn't be wandering around looking for a place to stay," she said. Tiger nodded. He _was_ going to say that he'd blown his ship up as part of the standard procedure, but he felt he didn't need to now. Dad sighed again. This whole situation was nuts. But, he decided, it might turn out to be a dream tomorrow, so it couldn't hurt.

"Alright," said Dad. "I suppose he can stay here for tonight. But tomorrow, we're gonna half to sort all this out and decide what to do next." Lauren smiled.

"Thanks Dad," she said. She turned to Tiger. "You can stay here tonight. You understand?" Tiger nodded.

"Understand," he repeated. Lauren got the feeling that she could trust him.

"Okay then," she said. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Toomorrow," nodded Tiger. Lauren and her dad left the barn, shutting the door behind them. Tiger looked around, trying to find a place to sleep. What had just happened was crazy, but he would deal with it in the morning. He chalked the encounter up as proof that humans and Yautja could work out problems without violence. Or, rather, without anyone sustaining an injury or dying. Besides, he was tired from his trip and rough landing. He needed sleep.

He went over to the haystack where he had hidden earlier. He decided to lie down, thinking that it could serve as a temporary bed. He was soon asleep.

888

Lauren was laying in bed as well, running over the events that had just taken place. An actual alien was sleeping in their barn! That was so cool! She went to sleep, hoping it wouldn't end up being a dream.

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Wow! Weird chapter, huh? Oh well. I did the best I could and pretty much got the results I wanted. There's going to be a good deal of comedy over the next few chapters, but it'll eventually get serious. I hope you all stick around long enough to see it.

So yeah. Exile went through three names in this chapter: Exile, Ty'ger, and Tiger. He'll be staying Tiger from now on, unless another Predator shows up, which may or may not happen. not sure yet. And Lauren's dad is gonna stay as Dad. There isn't much reason to change his name (or rather give him an actual name) just yet.

Stay tuned!

Translations, for those that don't know, are as follows:

Lou-dte Kalei: woman(literally "child-maker") used as an insult.

Kantra: prayer

Yeyinde: Brave One

Mo: No (I figured it was similar enough that Lauren and her dad could understand it)


	3. not a dream

Disclaimer: I'll come out and admit it. I don't own the Predator franchise. Or the Alien franchise, for that matter (Though I do own a copy of Predator, Predator 2, Predators, and Aliens). However, this is the story I have chosen to write in that universe. It and the original characters therein are mine.

Author's note: I was gone for a while, I know. For this story, I'll be honest, it wasn't just writer's block. To me, that is the condition that is part I don't know what to do next, and part I simply can't put down the next few words, regardless of where I'm going. In this case, it was almost purely a blank spot in my head, between what happened last chapter, what was potentially going to happen in the next chapter (the one after this) what was going to happen several down the road, and then after that, and then the end. For those of you who couldn't keep up with that (I can't keep up with me half the time) the whole story except for sparing scenes was a blank spot. I have had time off, and now I know how to continue. Thanks for bearing with me, and off we go!

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Lauren woke up a bit groggy, as was fairly normal. After a few minutes, she sat up in bed and stretched, yawning as she did so. She scratched the back of her head, and suddenly all of the events from last night came rushing back to her.

There was an alien in her barn. There was an alien in her barn!

She got up and hurriedly got dressed, pausing for only a moment to wonder if her rush was for nothing. After all, it could well have been a dream. She shook the thought out of her head. It had been real. It had to have been, even if it was too good to be true.

She rushed downstairs and out the door, not seeing wether or not her father was already up. She practically ran out to the barn, but slowed as she drew near. She remembered that although the spaceman had said he wasn't hostile, he was definitely outfitted to be hostile. She approached the barn door slowly and cautiously opened it.

She peered inside the unlit barn, searching for signs of life. When her eyes adjusted to the light, her smile grew wide. There he was, asleep on a stack of hay. She debated in her head wether or not to approach him. After all, startling a proven dangerous, half-awake alien might prove to be a bad idea. She settled for trying to get a good look at him for the time being.

As she remembered from last night, his yellow skin was striped. The stripes ranged from orange to brown to near black. He was very tall, she estimated around seven feet. His fingers ended in claw-like nails. He had a strange mix of what looked like advanced alien technology and tribal hunting gear on, though much of it was now resting near him on the floor. She noted a few very exotic looking feathers attached to what looked like dreadlocks.

Most striking was his mask. It wasn't so much what it looked like, it being smooth around the face area with two black lenses to indicate the alien's eyes, as well as the plate covering the top of his head, which was also smooth. What was strange to her was that he still had it on. Had he slept in it? Could he not breath the air on Earth? What was his home planet like that he couldn't breath here?

As she was pondering the numerous and piling questions about the visitor from outer space currently located inside her barn, she didn't notice that his head had moved.

"Lauren," said Tiger in greeting, startling the young blonde.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, jumping a bit. She felt embarrassed. "H-hi, Tiger."

"Hi," he repeated, standing up and stretching. Lauren was reminded of the imposing figure the alien cut. He popped his neck and rotated his arms. After clenching and unclenching his fists, popping all of his fingers in the process, he looked at her.

"What here?" he asked in his broken English. It took Lauren a moment to decipher that he was asking what she was doing here.

"I came to make sure you were real," she answered, smiling. Tiger cocked his head to one side, seemingly puzzled, and issued a clicking growl. "Re-al," she repeated, emphasizing the word, hoping it would somehow clarify things. "As in, here. Really here. Not imaginary."

"Mo Kwei," he responded. "Nan-ku." Lauren looked puzzled, so Tiger did his best to translate. "No tricky. Alive."

"Ah," said Lauren, nodding her head. "We need to get you some more English in there, buddy." She said this cheerfully, and Tiger was able to understand her. He nodded in agreement, as he had a great desire to learn the human's language. Suddenly they both heard a faint growling noise. It was Lauren's stomach. She gave a small laugh, her cheeks turning red.

Tiger was puzzled. This was the second time that this had happened to her. He double-checked his thermal imaging to be sure before moving back to the visible light spectrum. Her cheeks had warmed up. He wasn't sure he understood. He once again tilted his head and gave a clicking growl in curiosity.

"I, uh," laughed Lauren, "I was so excited to get out here that I forgot to eat breakfast. Come on inside with me and let's get us fed." Tiger just stood there. He was sure he'd picked up a few things, but was still confused. "Food," she said again, trying to clarify. "Eating?" Tiger nodded in response. "Well come on then."

She walked out of the barn, and, after checking around the property, motioned for Tiger to follow her. He moved very quickly, which surprised Lauren. For a creature his size, he was vary fast. She opened the door to her kitchen and beckoned him inside.

"Sweet Mother of God!" exclaimed Dad upon Tiger entering the kitchen. Everyone was frozen for a moment. After a short time, Dad released the breath he became aware he was holding. "Jesus..."

"What's wrong Dad?" asked Lauren.

"Honestly?" he asked, incredulously. "I kinda... kinda forgot he was real. Thought I had dreamt him up."

"Nope," said Lauren. "He's real. And since we have this guest, I think we should do our best to be good hosts. Have you got breakfast going yet?"

"Lauren you know as well as I do that I am responsible for dinner," said Dad, hiding behind his paper. Lauren rolled her eyes and checked the fridge. She suddenly halted and looked back at Tiger.

"Um..." she started, not sure just how to ask, "what do... how... hmm... What do you eat?" Tiger understood the word eat, and worked out she was asking about his diet.

"Amedha," he answered. "Uhhh... mmmeat."

"Oh, ok," said Lauren. She checked the fridge. They were actually low on meat at the moment, as she'd been planning on going grocery shopping today. "Hmm." deciding to save time, she motioned for Tiger to come over to the fridge. She pointed to the meager selection. Tiger took the hint.

"Sorry," she said. "There's not much here."

"M-di H'dlak," said Tiger, able to pick up the tone of regret in her voice. "Kv'var H'ka-se." She looked at him puzzled. Tiger did not know enough English to translate, but did know enough to try and explain. "Llleave. Come later." he said. With that, he walked back towards the kitchen door.

"Now wait a minute," said Dad. "Where exactly are you going?"

"Kv'var," said Tiger. "Going."

"But you'll be back later, right?" asked Lauren. Tiger nodded.

"Back later," he repeated. With that he left the house and bounded off into the forest." Lauren and Dad were left in the kitchen just staring after him.

"I really don't know what to think of him," said Dad. "It's really too bad that he can only speak a little bit of English."

"I know," said Lauren. "It's almost like... I mean he knows some, but not much. You'd figure if he was coming to Earth he'd be more prepared to hold a conversation."

"Remember," said Dad, "He indicated he couldn't leave last night. He could've easily crashed. Maybe he intended to come here some day, but he wasn't ready."

"Hey yeah," said Lauren. "Still, he only knows snatches and fragments of English. Do you think... do you think learning English was just a hobby for him?" Dad looked very thoughtful for a while.

"... You know what?" he said. "What if we were just a hobby to him? Like, learning about humans. He hardly seems like an invader. Too, well... polite. You know, in his own way. The point is, this whole thing could be an accident for him. He could have had bigger and better things to do before he got stuck here." They both grew silent.

"... Makes you feel kind of small, doesn't it?" asked Lauren. "I mean... we're so far behind his species that we're just a hobby to him."

"There goes my sense of achievement," chuckled Dad. Lauren grinned.

"What sense of achievement?" she asked. Dad rolled his eyes.

888

Tiger stalked his prey from up high in an old, sturdy tree. A deer, a big buck, waited below him. He was waiting downwind of the buck. He was eating a bit. He raised his head and took a few steps forward. Tiger narrowed his eyes. He had done a thermal check, and the only thing around for about a mile was this buck and some smaller animals. No humans. Good.

He jumped down, extending his blades.

888

Lauren heard the sound of the barn door opening and closing. She was fairly sure it was Tiger, but went out to make sure. As she got close, Tiger stepped out and quickly shut the barn door. He motioned for her to stay back. She stopped, puzzled, and then noticed there was some red on his nails. Blood?

"Mmmessy," he said, trying to explain.

"What's messy?" she asked.

"Kv'var amedha," he answered. She recognized the word amedha as meaning meat earlier. Had he been out hunting? Is that what Kv'var meant?

"You have meat in there?" asked Lauren. Tiger nodded. "Is that where the blood is from?" She pointed to his hand, and he looked. He nodded. "Oh. Well that's really not too big a deal. I can help you skin it if you like. My dad and I go out hunting often enough." He tilted his head to one side. He issued a clicking growl, which was becoming familiar to Lauren. He seemed to do it whenever he wasn't sure of something.

"Skinning," said Lauren, pantomiming skinning an animal as best she could. Tiger caught on, and began to laugh. It was a startling sound to her. It was a trilling sound, but she was able to figure out that he was amused.

"Mo neeeed help," he said. "Come see." He opened the barn door and beckoned her to follow him. She stepped inside and gasped when he pointed to his kill.

A very large buck (as evidenced by the antlers on the floor nearby) was hanging suspended from the barn rafters, cleanly skinned and with much of the blood already drained. Lauren looked the deer over. It was a very large specimen. It occurred to her that this meant her guest was strong enough to carry it all the way back to the barn, and as he didn't look strained, it must not have been too difficult for him.

She also realized that, in the minute it took her to get outside, he had managed to completely skin the animal, and the job didn't look rushed.

'He must be used to hunting for his food,' she thought. "Good job," she said out loud. "This is a big one." Tiger clicked, in a manner that Lauren took to mean he was pleased.

"Eat," he said. "Back later." She nodded, leaving him to eat in privacy. As soon as she closed the barn door, she heard him slide the wooden bolt into place. It dawned on her that she had yet to actually see his face, and that to eat he would have to remove his mask. That meant he would be able to survive breathing Earth's air.

Why, then, was he always wearing his mask? She decided then and there that it was going to be a small, personal mission to see the face of her mysterious guest from outer space. Her curiosity would not let such a mystery go unsolved.

She walked back into the house and went into the living room. Her father was just about to head out to work. "He back yet?" asked Dad.

"Yep," she said. "You shoulda seen what he brought home as food."

"What?" asked Dad.

"Buck," she said. "A huge buck." Dad stopped.

"An entire buck?" he asked.

"Yep," she said. "He had it hanging from the ceiling. Already skinned too. Might take Mr. Johnson's title as best hunter in the county."

"First off," said Dad, "I am gonna be the one who bags that prize come hunting season. Second, he can't take the title cause he doesn't exist, wink wink, and third, he's gonna want to be careful about hunting around here. Some people pay a little too much attention to the forest. Just warn him if you can figure out how." He gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead and headed out the door.

Lauren sat down on the couch, and wondered how she would communicate her dad's warning to Tiger. She simply had to start helping him learn English.

888

Tiger was enjoying his meal, and enjoying the feeling of air against his face for the first time since yesterday. He had needed to keep his mask on until now for a few reasons. He was fairly sure that his appearance would frighten his new hosts. On top of that, the air wasn't quite the same as it was on home. There wasn't as much nitrogen or oxygen, as he knew from his studies. It was strange to him that he could perceive the difference. The air felt lighter, like it didn't fill his lungs enough.

He finished his meal and put his mask back on. He looked to the remainder of the meat, which he'd cooked, and decided it would keep the rest of the day. He climbed to the upper floor of the barn and looked out at the house.

All in all, it was a good place he'd landed, and he felt very lucky. However, he had a nagging feeling that things would not stay this easy this long.

* * *

M'di H'dlak- no fer (in this case he meant it as no worries)

Kv'var- hunting

H'ka-se- now

And there you have it. I'll be honest, I worry about this story a little. I just, I'm worried about it, you know? It seems to safe right now. But don't worry, that'll pass. Things are gonna start getting a little more intense soon. I mean, come on. This is a story based on an R-rated movie franchise.

And, by the way, as to my return. A friend of mine and I made a deal, and as part of the deal, I had to update all of my stories that needed updating. She and I have also made a continuing deal so that I will keep updating things, at least two updates a week. This story might take a back seat for a few weeks, but I will work on it soon. If you wish, you may thank my friend in your comments, and I will pass it along.

As always, stay tuned til next time.


End file.
